Topic | Who | Text |
Call for ceasefire. Condemn the unlawful actions of the Israeli government. | Luxon Seymour Peters | The situation in Gaza constitutes a human rights crisis and hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians and children are dying each day that there is not a ceasefire and admittance of adequate humanitarian aid. Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders are among the many international organisations calling for a ceasefire on humanitarian grounds. 60% of New Zealanders support a ceasefire. The leader of the Labour Party has called for a ceasefire. Why have you, as leaders of your respective parties and now the government of this country, not done the same? The Israeli government has publicly admitted to carrying out actions that violate international law and have publicly stated intentions to commit further illegal actions. Does your government intend to condemn the actions of the Israeli government as being in violation of international law? |
Do not support the Treaty Principles Bill. | Luxon Peters | The Treaty of Waitangi does not need to be redefined through a Treaty Principles Bill. The way that the Treaty of Waitangi is implemented and applied in New Zealand is ever evolving and there are already mechanisms in place to allow for changes to fit the modern day. What justification do you have for investing time and resources into a new and separate mechanism for defining the Treaty? Further, the proposed aims of the Bill are a poor interpretation of the original document and do not align with the stance of numerous Treaty experts that have evolved over the years since the establishment of the Waitangi Tribunal. I urge you not to support the proposed Treaty Principles Bill past the first reading. |
I like the commitment to expanding renewable energy sources and reducing agricultural emissions. Do not repeal the ban on oil and gas exploration. | Luxon Peters | I am supportive of your government’s commitment to expanding renewable energy sources and reducing agricultural emissions. These aims will be a positive step towards ensuring a long-lasting and sustainable energy future for New Zealand. However, these aims do not align with the proposal to repeal the ban on oil and gas exploration. New Zealand holds a large and valuable exclusive economic zone in our surrounding seas. How can you invest in renewable energy sources while also putting the future of New Zealand’s seas at risk for the sake of non-renewable energy sources? |
Do not rename and rebrand government agencies that have a te reo Māori name | Luxon Seymour | It does not seem cost-effective to rename several government entities to return to their old names. Entities such as Waka Kotahi and Oranga Tamariki are well-established using these names and have been operating as such for 3 and 6 years, respectively. Whaikaha has also been established under this name and has never operated with a different primary name. Rebranding these and other agencies to change their names will be costly. Can you justify this large cost and use of taxpayer money when you have made commitments to focus on reducing public spending and addressing the cost of living? |
Focus attention on investing in crime prevention rather than harsher punishment | Luxon Seymour Peters | Why are you investing money and resources into harsher punishment and policing rather than addressing the problem at its source and focusing on crime prevention. You stated an aim of reducing public service expenditure but have also committed to increasing the police force. What evidence do you have that this approach will be more cost effective in reducing the incidence of crime than interventions that aim to reduce the causes of crime such as poverty? |
Email to: The Spinoff
Content:
I am writing, as a member of the Spinoff, to ask that you use your platform to spread awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. You must know that 3,826 children have been killed in three weeks, which Save the Children says surpasses the annual number of children killed in conflict zones since 2019. Doctors Without Borders is warning about the 'dire health situation' in Gaza, including the lack of clean water, antibiotics, and access to essential medicines. As of 3 November:
As the media, you have a critical role in educating people about what is happening on the ground in Gaza. So much of the mainstream media I have seen focuses on the actions of Hamas as the catalyst for the current conflict, while ignoring the fact that Israel is an apartheid state that, as Amnesty International reports, has inflicted a '15-year ongoing...blockade that amounts to illegal collective punishment'.
I urge you to increase your reporting of the situation so the voices of the Palestinian people can be heard.
___________________
Email to: Chris Luxon (October)
Content: I was interested to hear your recent comments about not having received any advice around Israel's breaking of international law against the citizens of Gaza.
As part of the democracy that has voted you in, this comment did not fill me with confidence. I would hope that our incoming Prime Minister would be proactive enough to commission advice relating to what the UN has called an occupation and a breach of international law, and that Amnesty International has labeled as war crimes. Even if these claims were not true, I was surprised to hear that you were not informed on such a topic.
I hope that you have since commissioned such advice - if New Zealanders are to put our faith in you as our Prime Minister, we would hope that you would provide strong, well-informed and evidence-based leadership.
I add my voice to others who are calling on the NZ government to support a ceasefire so that the journey to peace may commence.
Reply: Humanitarian aid announced blah blah
Reply back: Kia ora e te Pirimia,
Thank you for your response. I would like to emphasise that humanitarian aid is useless if you are dead. Since the writing of my first email, the number of Palestinians in Gaza who have been killed at the hand of the Israeli government has doubled. These deaths were entirely preventable had a ceasefire been called.
I am deeply disturbed by this and by the complicity of New Zealand politicians. I urge the new government to cut all ties with the apartheid state of Israel, including closing the Israeli embassy, and to demand a permanent ceasefire and to end the blockade of Gaza and occupation of Palestine.
Are you able to tell me the exact reasons as to why this has not happened yet and what is preventing this from happening?
Are you also able to tell me what exactly the new government plans to do in relation to this issue?
This is a matter of priority as more lives are lost with every passing day, including during the so-called pause.
___________________
Letter to: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
Content:
I emailed you on 30 October calling for you to demand an immediate ceasefire and commit long term to supporting the liberation of Palestinian people. Since my email, a further 6,854 Palestinian civilians in Gaza have died (a total of at least 14,854 people since October 7), including a further 2,826 children (a total of at least 6,150 children since October 7). These deaths were entirely preventable had a ceasefire been called.
As Amnesty International has stated, the four-day truce is nowhere near enough to address the catastrophic suffering or relieve the horrifying harm to civilians. In its 23 November emergency situation update, WHO reported that:
‘A public health catastrophe is rapidly evolving in Gaza with high levels of violent deaths and injuries, mass displacement, overcrowding, major disruption and dysfunction of the health system, and damage to water and sanitation infrastructure. Severe stressors for mental health are affecting the whole population, including bombardment and siege. Destruction and hostilities are gravely obstructing ambulance access to the injured and health facilities.’
As part of the large community of New Zealanders who support an immediate ceasefire (60% of New Zealanders), I am joining the call of Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders for:
Can you please advise how your Government is going to respond to the crisis in Gaza, and its position on the above calls from New Zealanders and international humanitarian organisations?
___________________
Letter to: Rt Hon Winston Peters, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Content:
I am writing to you in your capacity as Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding the worsening crisis in Gaza. The previous government did not do anything about this crisis. I consider this a weak position to take and would like to know what your government plans to do differently.
Since October 7th, at least 14,854 people in Gaza have been killed at the hands of the Israeli government, including at least 6,150 children.
I oppose in the strongest terms the state of Israel’s brutal oppression of Palestinian peoples and its unlawful occupation of Palestinian lands. I urge you to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and commit long term support for the liberation of Palestinian people. I also urge the new government to cut all ties with the apartheid state of Israel, including closing the Israeli embassy and the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador.
New Zealand has an obligation as part of the international community to put pressure on the Israeli government to end its attack on Gaza.
___________________
Letter to: Local MP (māori roll)
Content:
I am writing to you as my local MP. As someone who strongly believes in self determination for Indigenous whānau all across the world including in Palestine I believe we have a duty as Māori to be strong, vocal and unwavering in our support for Palestine.
I urge Te Pāti Māori to take even bolder action for Palestine and to put on enormous and continuous pressure on the Government until not only a ceasefire but until Palestine is free.
The humanitarian pause may bring a brief respite, but halting the fighting for a matter of days is nowhere near enough to address the catastrophic suffering or relieve the horrifying harm to Palestinians.
There must be a sustained ceasefire. I urge you to both call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire and do everything in your power to make it happen.
___________________
Email to: Winston Peters
Content:
I am writing to you in response to the joint statement this Government signed on January 3 2024 on Houthi attacks on commercial vessels.
The statement says: ‘We remain committed to the international rules-based order and are determined to hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks.’
As such, I ask what is this Government doing to hold Israel accountable for its continued attacks in Gaza which do not adhere to the principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction, proportionality and precaution in attack?
I’m disappointed that this Government is concerned with the loss of life and willing to intervene only when it relates to ‘the global economy, and free flow of commerce in the region’s critical waterways’ (as per the joint statement).
I am also concerned that this Government has committed to ‘hold malign actors accountable for unlawful seizures and attacks’, in allyship with the United States, which risks expanding the war in Gaza and greater conflict in the region. What is this Government doing to prevent the escalation of violence?
I previously wrote to you on 27 November 2023 (which I never received a response to). At the time of writing this first email, at least 14,854 people in Gaza had been killed, including at least 6,150 children, since 7 October 2023. Now, at least 22,438 people have been killed, including at least 9,600 children.
This Government’s lack of action allows Israel to continue this massacre of innocent people (including 136 staff members of the UN) and what the World Health Organisation is calling ‘a public health catastrophe’. In this context, this Government’s apparent prioritisation of its friendship with the United States and the ‘free flow of commerce’ over its responsibility to hold Israel accountable and prevent further loss of life in Gaza is abhorrent.
I look forward to your response.
Email to: Prime Minister Luxon and/or Minister Winston Peters
Content:
I am writing to express my outrage at your decision to halt funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees during their most desperate moment of need on the basis of allegations currently without evidence.
Among an organisation of 13,000 UN aid workers, risking the starvation of millions over grave allegations of 12 is indefensible.
You must not wait till after the investigations to resume aid because the people of Gaza cannot afford to wait. A UN report from December stated that 93% of the people in Gaza are facing 'crisis levels of hunger', and a quarter of the population face 'catastrophic hunger and starvation' which the Human Rights Watch says is being used as a weapon of war in Gaza, which is a war crime.
You must restore aid to UNRWA immediately and call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.